Hi
@Maria d'Orey ! I hope you can shed some light on your post-vac scheme interview process at
Ashurst? I wonder if it is much like the vac scheme interview with a mixture of commercial and competency-based questions, or how/if it differs from the vac scheme interview? Additionally, if the interview is the only assessment for the tc at the end?
Hi
@time2work ! Thanks for your message, of course I can! 😄
I found the interview to be very different from the vac scheme interview. The partners barely asked me about my written application (as expected) - they only used them to start the interview (e.g. asked about my background as an international and non-law student). I also don't remember there being any competency-based questions.
About 60% of the interview consisted of commercial questions. They gave me a scenario on the spot (no need to read anything, just a few facts that they tell you during the interview) and asked me to highlight a few commercial issues that I would flag to the client. That's usually when the partners will pick on a few of the things that you said, so the key here is finding a balance between sticking to your initial argument and showing that you can also listen to other perspectives that you hadn't considered before.
They also asked me about my experience in the vacation scheme and to explain some of the tasks I had done/some of the things I had learnt about the firm. The only way to prepare for this is to take as many notes as possible during the vac scheme - make sure you ask for details about each task that you're given so that you can understand the bigger picture of the deal you're working on and how you're helping.
They also asked me a few morality/ethics questions and gave me a scenario-based question. My tip here would be to familiarise yourself with the SRA principles to understand how solicitors should act in unusual situations.
Lastly, a major difference between my vac scheme and post-vac scheme interviews was that the firm really reinforced that we needed to have a very strong and much more specific reason for wanting to work there. While there is only so much you can learn about a firm without having experienced the culture and work, after you spend a few weeks there the partners really want to see that you made the most out of the experience and that you have very personal reasons for wanting to join!
In general, I genuinely really enjoyed my post-vac scheme interview. I know this is an odd thing to say, but I was much more nervous for my vac scheme interview haha! In this one, I literally treated it as a conversation as much as possible. Speaking to as many people as possible during the vac scheme is a great tip as well, as it ended up that I had already briefly interacted with the partners that ended up interviewing me during the vac scheme.
Yes, the interview is the only assessment! Not sure if they will change this, but this was my experience!
I hope this helps!! 😊
